Former Toronto Raptors Star Pascal Siakam Delivers in Game 4 Victory for Pacers

Pascal Siakam sunk slowly into the right corner.

A 10–2 run by the New York Knicks had trimmed the Indiana Pacers’ lead to six. It was a role Siakam rarely played with the Toronto Raptors. He was spacing the floor in crunch time, planted in the corner, pulling OG Anunoby away from the action while Tyrese Haliburton orchestrated the offense above the break.

Haliburton ran a pick-and-roll with Andrew Nembhard, drawing Anunoby into the paint. Nembhard kicked it out to the corner.

Siakam caught it and rose up for three.

Bucket.

The shot pushed the lead back to nine, and the Pacers never looked back.

Indiana closed out a 130–121 victory on Tuesday night to take a 3–1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. They will have a chance to clinch the series in New York on Thursday.

Siakam finished with 30 points on 11-for-21 shooting, including 3-for-4 from deep, and added five rebounds. Eleven of his points came in the fourth as he delivered down the stretch despite being hounded by Anunoby for most of the night.

Haliburton led the Pacers with 32 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds in one of his most complete performances of this postseason. Nembhard had a quieter night with three points and three assists but the Canadian guard helped steady the offense for Indiana.

Anunoby racked up 22 points on 7-for-16 shooting but went just 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. Brunson led New York with 31 points, but the Pacers relentlessly targeted him in pick-and-rolls and forced him to work on both ends.

Montreal’s Bennedict Mathurin gave Indiana a crucial spark off the bench, scoring 20 points in under 13 minutes. He went to the line 10 times, helping to ignite Indiana’s fourth-quarter push.

Further Reading